Common Jack-in-the-pulpit
Arisaema triphyllum
Found in moist forests, bottomlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 1–2.5 feet
- Spread
- 1–2 feet
- Light
- Deep shade, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 1.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 44 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- March to April
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
Recorded in 30 West Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 144 animals.
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Black-and-White WarblerMniotilta varia
- Black-capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillus
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Common RavenCorvus corax
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Downy WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
Who uses this plant?
1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Arisaema
- Spilosoma latipennisPink-Legged Tiger Moth
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Arisaema
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Other insects 1
- Coriscus ferus
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps
Plant details
- Family
- Araceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Brown/copper, green, purple or white
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Spreads by rhizomes
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “March to April” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Brown/copper, green, purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
- Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1–2.5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, USDA PLANTS, Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Common Jack in the pulpit; Jack In The Pulpit
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Growing cautions
- Self-seeds. Will self-sow. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- West Virginia occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

























